Cork tech sector optimistic about the future

Cork is well poised for future success. This was the primary position discussed at the 21st it@cork AGM, which was held on April 25th at the River Lee Hotel in Cork City. At the meeting, the outgoing Chair of the organisation, Caroline O’Driscoll, reflected on her time at the helm and expressed her sentiments on the future of tech in Cork and the role of Chair was passed to Anthony O’Callaghan, Senior Director of Business Integration Solutions at Flex Global Solutions.

The tech sector is now the fastest growing sector in the southern region, employing an estimated 29,000 people.

Addressing last night’s attendees, Mr O’Callaghan spoke of his new position,

“Taking up the mantle from Caroline is a complete privilege. The possibilities for Cork as a tech hub right now seem endless, but to be able to capitalise on this plethora of opportunities we need to work hard to ensure the infrastructure is in place to facilitate strong growth and development. We must continue the work that Caroline and the rest of the it@cork team have done in creating an environment that paves the way for intense collaboration across members and parallel industries.

I am keen to bring the issue of skills in the sector into focus. There are many facets to this in terms of onboarding the young and old, men and women. We must work to engage diverse sectors of our labour force in order to embrace the possibility that technology holds. We must also carefully consider how we can further support SMEs – the lifeblood of our economy.

To date, we have been very successful in our collaborations with educational institutions from both CIT and UCC and our incredibly popular Skillnet offering. A passion project in my role as Chair will certainly be to leverage the great work of Skillnet in giving our members access to sustainable training courses for their employees. The work done through this initiative has been stellar – in 2018 alone, 65 tech companies in the South West region took part in Skillnet training including 50 courses and 500 trainees”.

Ms O’Driscoll commented on her tenure as Chair,

“Chairing it@cork for the last 2 years has been an honour. The tech sector continues to perform strongly and in response, we have increased the range of services to members in areas such as Skillnet, talent and clustering initiatives, as well as an expanded event and networking programme. None of this would be possible without the staff, outgoing board and committees; I want to thank each and every one of them for their commitment, many who do so on a volunteer basis. I have often said that it is people who make a difference and I truly believe that. I would like to congratulate Anthony on his election as chair, I know he will be a truly exceptional leader of it@cork. I wish him well in the role, he has my full support”.

The AGM also saw the election of Denis Canty, McKesson and Derek O Connell, JCI to the Board. Gillian Bergin, Dell EMC, was appointed as vice chair.

Mr O’ Callaghan concluded,

“Taking over the reins of Irelands largest technology cluster at a time of great prosperity in the South West region is both daunting and exciting, but I must admit the opportunity to continue to help it@cork stimulate growth across our member base strips away any nervousness. I’m stepping into my new role as we near the biggest event in the it@cork calendar – the Tech Summit. On May 9th Cork will play host to tech luminaries and professionals from all over Europe and I cannot think of a better, more exciting way to kick off my new journey with it@cork.”

IT in Cork

– Overseas companies employing 33,000+
– +17,700 people employed in + 60 IDA supported companies in the south-west.
– +12,400 people in +280 Enterprise Ireland supported companies in the south-west
– Strong international location for investment strong clusters in ICT, Life Sciences, Global Business Services
– Continued new investment and re-investment
– Home to Coder Dojo and I Wish (inspiring Women in STEM)
– University City with 35,000+ students (47% of Cork population is under 35)
– Competitively priced property solutions, with over 1 million square foot of office space coming on stream within 18 months
– Proactive academic-industry collaborations on college courses.
– Tyndall Institute – Irelands largest ICT Research Centre Nimbus – Irelands largest dedicated IoT Centre
– Cork is home to a strong cluster of over 60 International Technology Companies
– The technology sector is now the largest FDI sector in cork.
– Employment in the tech sector in IDA supported companies has grown by 63% in the last 5 years